Meow or Never (Vanessa Abbot Cat Protection League Cat Cozy Mystery Series Book 3) Read Online Free PDF

brought it out and rested it
on the windowsill. Vanessa strained her eyes to see what it was. Then the sun
reflected on something else, but it wasn’t anything as shiny as the round glass
of binoculars. This was something black and thin, and Walter held it up to his
face and squinted at her from behind it.

    The first thought of what it was
flickered through Vanessa’s mind, but it was too late. The first gunshot ripped
through the tranquil countryside. The bullet sang over her head and over the
SUV behind her. In the back of her mind, Vanessa heard Henry screeching in his
crate. Good old Henry. He always knew when something like this was about to
happen, and he always tried to warn her. Thank Heaven she brought him with her.

    Vanessa ducked her head as the second
shot thumped into the side of the SUV.

    “What in the name of all that’s holy is
going on?” Julie bellowed.

    The third gunshot blasted through the
air, and the window next to Vanessa shattered into a cloud of powder. She covered
her head with her hands and spun around to protect her face from the gunshots.

    She dove into the passenger seat.
“Drive!” she screamed to Julie. “Drive!”

    “What is going on?” Julie cried again.

    “Can’t you see?” Vanessa shouted.
“Someone’s shooting at us. Now get this car started and get us out of here.
He’ll kill us if we stay here.”

    Julie turned the key in the ignition,
but another bullet hit the front windshield and it crumpled in a curtain of
tiny shards. Julie screamed and let go of the ignition key. She clutched the
sides of her head and screamed through the gaping hole where the windshield
used to be.

    Vanessa started to yell at her again,
but changed her mind. She seized the key and turned it over herself. The engine
roared to life. She grabbed the gearshift and threw the SUV into drive. She
slammed her hand down on Julie’s knee and pushed her foot down hard on the gas
pedal.

    The SUV shot forward and almost ran
into a clump of trees by the side of the road. The car in motion snapped Julie
out of her terror. She grabbed the steering wheel and turned the vehicle out of
the way just in time.

    Julie kept her foot jammed down on the
gas pedal when Vanessa let her go, and the SUV tore down the road away from the
property, away from Walter, and away from the shooting. A cloud of dust
separated them from the danger.

    After a while, the two women calmed
down and Julie drove at a regular speed again. They reached the main highway
back to Caspar Crossing, and they sighed with relief.

    All at once, Julie screeched off the
pavement and braked the SUV to a stop on the side of the road. “What is going
on? Who was that shooting at us?”

    Vanessa took a deep breath and turned
to Julie “Who knew you were coming out here to show me this property?”

    Julie gasped in surprise. “Just the
other people in my office, my secretary, the other agents, and our general
manager. I always tell them where I’m going, and I have to make a record of
viewings for the owners so they know how much traffic they’re getting in
potential buyers. Why do you ask?”

    Vanessa closed her eyes and shook her
head. “Never mind.” Then her eyes snapped open. “No, wait a minute. I want you
to give me a list of all their names.”

    “What for?” Julie cried.

    Vanessa let out a shaking breath. “I
know it’s not something you normally do, but this is part of a murder
investigation. A man just tried to shoot us, and someone in your office must
have told him where we were going. I have to have those names.”

    “I don’t think I can do that,” Julie
replied. “If it’s part of a murder investigation, shouldn’t the police be
asking for those names?”

    Vanessa drooped and nodded. “You’re
right. I’ll tell Detective Wheeler to get in touch with your office.”

    Julie gasped. “Is it really all that
important?”

    Vanessa settled back in her seat. “It’s
a matter of life and death.”

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